IT'S not easy to be hated intensely by football fans on both Tyneside and Wearside.

The occasional Middlesbrough player has incurred the wrath of Fulwell and Leazes ends in years gone by, but in the main the hatred has come from either the black and whites or the red and whites.

But in a perverse sort of way Don Hutchison has done his bit to break down those barriers - he has crossed that great divide.

Lee Clark attempted to and failed - his true feelings for the Magpies never diminishing while wearing a Sunderland shirt, as shown when he was caught wearing a very different kind of shirt at Wembley.

The likelihood is that Alan Shearer keeps any visits to the Bridges Shopping Centre to a minimum, and Michael Gray is not believed to be a regular on the Newcastle club scene - nightclubs as opposed to the CIU version that is.

At the same time both the rival skippers would more than likely be mobbed by adoring fans if they ventured out on a Saturday afternoon to take in the air in their home town.

Hutchison, however, is a very different kettle of fish. Controversy has followed him everywhere he has played - from Hartlepool to Liverpool and via a twisting route to West Ham!

Although still considered a hero at Victoria Park, he is held in equal contempt by both Newcastle and Sunderland fans, and it could prove a great competition which of the two clubs can generate the greater vitriol towards the midfielder when he visits the region.

The Stadium of Light faithful will get the first chance this afternoon when Sunderland entertain the Hammers.

It is inevitable after what has gone on before that he's in for a rough ride from the home fans.

Before he even left the Black Cats he was already on the sharp end of verbal abuse. Angry supporters turned on him at half-time during Sunderland's 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town at the Stadium of Light in August.

The 30-year-old was suspended for the Premiership opener, and had been watching the game from the seat just in front of the press box with guests and other players not in the first team squad.

But as he made his way through the concourse to the players' lounge during the interval he became the target for hostile remarks from a section of supporters unhappy about the Tynesider apparently wanting to leave the club.

The strange thing is that Hutchison appears to thrive on being the centre of attention - whatever the circumstances!

Today will no doubt be the same with Hutchison likely to relish the thought of around 40,000 fans jeering his every move.

When he left Sunderland in September he couldn't resist a parting shot at the club - plus a few more shots in the weeks following.

The Scottish international insisted he never wanted to leave the North-East club, but said Peter Reid unsettled him

"I really want to stress that all the rumours about me being unsettled weren't true," Hutchison said at the time. "When Peter Reid said he wouldn't want to keep an unhappy player - referring to me - it could not have been further from the truth.

"I'm not sure what Peter's motives were for doing that. I honestly haven't got a clue. Peter hasn't spoken to me since the deal was done."

Yesterday Reid confirmed that he has spoken to the Scottish international since then, labelling the relationship "great".

But with Hutchison continuing to question Reid's tactics whenever he gets the chance the hatchet may well have to stay hanging on a Stadium of Light wall.

But yesterday, as if pre-empting his reception, Hutchison turned on the charm, saying: "I still keep in touch with all the boys up there, they are good lads and I've got a lot of respect for the manager.

''I really enjoyed my time there and it will be great to play again at the Stadium of Light in front of the Sunderland fans, although I'm not sure what kind of a reception I'll get!"

But it wasn't long after his move that Hutchison was telling Trevor Sinclair - in no uncertain terms - that Wearside wasn't for him.

Although quick to praise the fans, Hutchison added: "Sunderland are very route one. I played on the right wing last year, which wasn't my position, and it was very weird because I went through games not really doing a lot.

"I ended up scoring ten goals, which isn't too bad. The flip side of the coin, though, is my football started to deteriorate a little bit.

"I'd have liked to have done a lot more. I've said to Trevor I feel a lot more at home at West Ham playing centre midfield.

"And with the midfield four we've got and the boys up front, there is no reason why we can't finish higher than Sunderland."

Meanwhile, over on Tyneside he's seen as the worst of villains.

Not only did the Gateshead-born midfielder commit the cardinal sin of playing for the red and whites, he returned to score against the team he supported as boy for their bitter rivals.

Not only that, he celebrated the goal like it was his first ever, then when he repeated the act at Upton Park in September he really couldn't hide his delight in front of the Newcastle fans.

Compare that with the picture of Denis Law after scoring for Man City against Manchester United in the 70s, or more recently Sol Campbell's decision not to celebrate Arsenal's goal at White Hart Lane last month.

The words of the Millwall theme tune "Nobody likes us - we don't care" spring to mind. Hutchison will undoubtedly be the target of abuse today, but the silent approach may be a better option. It might even shock him into having a stinker